March 3, 2011

The protesters have been stopped by [a] phalanx of police on the ground floor of the west wing and prevented from reaching the rotunda and joining the separate group of protesters who have been spending the night in the Capitol.

Both groups of demonstrators are chanting slogans over the police such as “This is what democracy looks like,” “Shame!” and “We want Walker!” Others are making a peace sign with their fingers.

[Dane County Circuit Court Judge John] Albert indicated he would address the issue of overnight campers....

An estimated 100 people, according to police officials, fall under the category of protesters who have camped overnight in the rotunda and have resisted efforts to leave.

Albert's order is expected within hours and presumably would be implemented as soon as possible. A letter about Albert's order is expected to be handed to each protester. The letter would explain in detail why the protesters have to leave.

David Noyce of Madison said that he entered the building with the demonstrators after someone let them in and that a policeman flashed him a thumbs up as he entered. The protesters entered just as Gov. Scott Walker was about to start a news conference in a separate room of the building.

This is a moment to honor Hans Christion Heg's legacy and stand up against the secessionists trying to tear apart our Constitutional Republic because they cannot stand to live in it according to its laws.

I really don't understand why these people think that "this is what democracy looks like." Do they really believe that "democracy" is a bunch of people chanting and drumming all the time? This makes about as much sense as me punching someone in the face while saying "This is what monogamy looks like!"

shiloh said...ok, he can stay home as retreat can be an acceptable strategic option if your name is General MacArthur er Scott Walker.

Funny you should mention MacArthur in that context. A much younger version successfully led the clearing of the US Capitol grounds when the so-called Bonus Marchers occupied the grounds in 1932. He did the same thing later under your hero, FDR.

Too often people never consider the meaning of the slogan "By any means necessary." They think it's just a slogan, nothing more.

But to true believers, it means what it says: if you're not getting what you want with your current means, find new means. Keep trying, keep escalating means, until you get what you want. And "any means necessary" puts no limit on your means, no tactic beyond contemplation.

And eventually, a math building gets blown up. But that could never happen in Madison, right?

Protesters need to start thinking rationally about their limits. How far will they go if they lose?

Exactly, chickelit. Most of the Vietnam era protesters would never have supported the bombing. When the protests started, the organizers would never in their wildest dreams have predicted the bombing. But the conditions evolved until the bombing was possible, and then perhaps inevitable. And a factor in that evolution is the willingness to escalate tactics at every defeat, rather than step back and rethink and find a new approach.

At this point, rational voices on the left -- including most in the comment threads here -- are saying that the protests are ineffective, even counter productive, and that it's time to withdraw. But the protesters are in another place mentally as well as physically.

This *is* what Democracy looks like. However, we don't live in a Democracy. If we did, all of us would go to the statehouse or the federal congress and advance and vote on any motions we cared to address. The result is chaos. we live in a Democratic Republic, so we the "demos" elect officials to represent our interests in our absence.